Metal mold



June 29, 1937. K. A. LINDNER METAL MOLD Filed Sept. 5, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENITOR flaw/1Q Zmaiz BY W5 ATTORNE June 29, 1937. K.A. LINDNER METAL MOLD Filed Sept. 5, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Z6 INVENTORF el/E Zflmnzr ATT June 29, 1937. I K. A. LINDNER 2,085,324

I METAL MOLD Filed Sept. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 )2 WP-H wv'wi' if I WW W I by v 7 ll ll 7 7 I INVENTOR BY mm ATTORNEY Patented June 29, 1937UNITED STATES METAL MOLD Karl A. Lindner, Rahway, N. J., assignor toAmerican Smclting and Refining Company, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New Jersey Application September 5, 1934, Serial No. 742,714 13Claims. (01. 22-139) The improved form of mold to which the presentinvention pertains is designed to produce improved metal castings, suchas castings of copper or other metals or alloys having substantiallylike properties, the invention dealing especially with an improvedform-.of mold construction for the casting of electrolytic copper, inthe form of cakes possessing definite predetermined dimensions, andother desired characteristics.

In the production of high grade castings from electrolytically refinedcopper or copper of similar purity, the best results have been attainedby pouring into upright water-cooled molds having a vertical castingcavity with parallel sides or sides closely approaching to parallelism,undersuch conditions that the cast metal is rapidly solidified andcaused to shrink free from the walls of the casting cavity, 50 that itmay be discharged therefrom by gravity.

In order to produce high-grade castings of the above-indicatedcharacter, it has been thought necessary to employ the cooling water, orother cooling medium, entering the mold for cooling the same to solidifythe metal, at relatively elevated temperatures, certain operatorsspecifying temperatures lying between approximate extremes of 160 F. to212 R, such operators laying emphasis upon the inoperativeness of usingjacketed molds through the jackets of which water is circulated to coolthe mold by connecting the mold to an ordinary service pipe supplyingwater at temperatures approximating 50 to 60 F., alleging that thecooling of the mold by water entering at such a low temperature cannotproduce castings of the high-grade, uniform character throughout thecake and perfect surface required for the production of flat cakes forrolling.

However, it has been found that it is entirely feasible to produce castngs of the requisite highgrade unifOrm character throughout the cake,and with the perfect surface required for the production of fiat cakesfor rolling, by cooling the mold by connecting it to an ordinary servicepipe supplying water at temperatures approximately 50 to 60 F., or whatis commonly known and referred to as tap water, when certain precautionsare taken in applying the mold dressing or mold wash to the interior ,ofthe mold.

It will be recalled that it is customary to employ, in castingoperations, a mold dressing which coats the interior of the mold andforms a separating medium between the surface of the mold and the moltenmetal being cast therein. Bone ash is a customary material for thispurpose, it being applied to the mold by suspending it in a liquid suchas water, and spraying or flushing the suspension into the mold untilthe inner surfaces thereof are coated with the dressing. The mold isheated during the application of the dressing sufliciently to cause arapid evaporation of the liquid in which the bone ash is distributed,the solid material adhering to the surfaces of the mold and forming acoating thereover.

It has been found that where the mold dressing is uniformly distributedin a comparatively thick coating over the interior of the mold, it isentirely feasible to cool the mold by connecting it to an ordinaryservice pipe supplying tap water at temperatures approximating 50 to Oneof the objects of the present invention, therefore, is to provide animproved mold structure which facilitates the application of an even,comparatively thick, coating of a mold dressing to the interior of themold.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mold of theabove-indicated character having a movable bottom permitting readyaccess to the interior of the mold, enabling a ready application of aheavy, even coating of the mold dressing to the interior of the mold,while preventing excessive accumulation of mold dressing on the bottomof the mold, thereby very materially enhancing the production ofsatisfactory castings with the low temperature of cooling water such asmentioned above.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedmechanism for opening and closing the bottom of the mold, and animproved construction of the mold bottom itself.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds, the invention being exemplified in the discussion andillustrations hereinafter set forth in detail, and in the combinationand arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings, anddescribed in the following specification, the features of novelty of theinvention being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthis invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims appendedhereto, the invention itself, as to its objects and advantages, and themanner in which it may be carried out, may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an ironcore assembly for forming cooling ducts in the sides of the mold;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the interior of one side of the mold; O

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line fi l of Fig. 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the mold assembly;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 'II of Fig. 6, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 8 is an end view of the mold assembly illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 7, looking inthe direction of the arrows; Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side elevation ofthe mold showing details of the improved bottom construction andmechanism for operating the same;

Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the mold of Fig. 10, the view being takenat right angles to Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a detail view of the bottom operating mechanism illustratedin Figs. 10 and 11;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken on line I3I3 of Fig. 12, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the mold bottom showing guide means for theclosure gate to assure proper centering thereof;

Fig. 15 is a bottom view of the closure gate employed for closing themold bottom;

Fig. 16 is a side elevation of the closure gate illustrated in Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a side .elevation of a modified form of the construction,illustrating the use of a double cam for efiecting positive movement ofthe mold bottom both towards and away from the mold;

Fig. 18 is an end view of the construction shown in Fig. 17.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show an ironcore assembly comprising headers I0,.cross pipes II and end cross pipesI2, the latter tbeing positioned out of line with the cross pipes }'I I.Figs. 3 to 5 show a mold side piece I3 used in constructing the mold.Two such pieces or sections are joined by bolts It extending throughdrilled holes I5 to form the sembly upon uprights 25 carried by frame 26which is mounted on wheels 21. I

In constructing the mold, an iron core assembly such as illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 is constructed comprising headers It with cross pipes IIand end cross pipes I2. Molten copper is then cast around the iron pipeassembly to yield a copper block in which the pipes III, II and I2 areembedded. The pipes are then removed as by leaching with sulphuric orhydrochloric acid preferably agitated with air to assist in dissolvingthe iron, after which the block is suitably machined to form a mold sidepiece or section having longitudinal cooling ducts 28a and 28b, andtransverse cooling ducts 29 and 33.

As shown in Fig. 5, one side of the mold section is machined to providea recess which upon assembly with a similar mold section forms the moldcavity. For reasons hereinafter pointed out, great care is exercised inmachining this recess or cavity in order to insure a very definite andpredetermined taper of not less than 0.025 nor more than 0.075 inch perfoot of mold depth. Again, while such definite taper is provided alongthe sides 3| of the mold which define the thickness of the copper cakeor slab cast therein, the sides 32 of the mold which define the width ofthe cake or slab are machined parallel without taper. By this relativelyslight but definite tapering of the sides 3| of the mold sections, amold cavity having a slightly greater cross-sectional area at the topthan at the bottom is provided in the assembled mold. Also, as shown inFigs. 3, 5 and 6, the outer portions of the sides of the mold sectionslying on either side'of the mold cavity are machined or recessed at 33to provide flanges 34 on opposite sides of and adjacent to the moldcavity.

In assembling the mold, holes I 5 are drilled through the mold sectionsand two such sections are joined by bolts It. Gate II is provided with acooling duct 35 and closes the bottom of the mold. The mold is mountedin yoke 2|.

For cooling the mold inlet header 36 connected with longitudinal coolingducts 28b and outlet header 31 connected to longitudinal cooling ducts2811 are provided. The other ends of the longitudinal ducts 28a and 2817are closed withsuitable plugs 38a and 381), respectively. The header 36is connected to a source of cooling medium, such as tap water, in anyconventional manner, and preferably in such a way that the connectionmay be readily broken to allow the mold to be freely moved about theplant on wheels 21. Header 31 which exits the Water is likewiseconnected to a suitable outlet conduit. As has been mentioned above, ithas been found entirely feasible to use ordinary tap water as thecooling medium where. a relatively thick, uniform coating of a molddressing is applied .to the mold cavity. This mold dressing may be boneash, the coating thereof being obtained by flushing a suspension of boneash in water through the mold cavity. Or the dressing may be a mixtureof an inert substance selected from the class consisting of boneash,bone-black, or graphite, or combinations thereof, and a suitableadhesive constituent, such as rosin, gum copal, gum arabic, gumtragacanth, rosin pitch, glue, gelatin, or the like, dissolved in asuitable low boiling solvent such as, for example, denatured alcohol.Thereafter, the molten copper is poured into the cavity and the moldcooled by means of water introduced through inlet header 36 into thelongitudinal ducts 28b, whence it passes upwardly through the sides ofthe mold by way of transverse ducts 29 and 30 into longitudinalducts.28a. from which it exits through header 31; By thus keeping themold relatively cool but above the dew point of the adjacent atmosphere,Warping and checking of the mold walls is materially reduced. Uponsolidification of the copper, the headers 36 and 31 may be disconnectedand the cast copper cake which has the definite taper corresponding tothe dimensions of the cavity is released from the ctvity by invertingthe mold and yoke.

It has been said above that care must be taken to apply the coating ofthe mold dressing uniformly to the surfaces of the mold cavity.Therefore, in order to provide ready access to the mold cavity at bothends thereof, and to prevent excessive accumulation of the mold dressingat the bottom of the mold, the bottom of the mold cavity may be openedas desired by the provision of the gate i1 and the improved mechanismfor operating the gate, so that the mold cavity may be entirely open forflushing in the mold dressing, thereby facilitating the production of auniform coating thereof on the surfaces of the cavity while securely andtightly closing the cavity during actual molding operations.

Gate I1 is provided for the purpose of opening and closing the moldcavity I6. The underside of gate IT is provided with a wear plate 4| ofsuitable hard material, such as steel, for forming a wearing surface foran operating cam 42, welded or otherwise suitably secured to anoperating shaft 43, the cam 42 being eccentrically positioned relativelyto the shaft 43, as clearly shown in Figs. 10 and 13, which also showclearly the preferred shape of the cam.

The shaft 43 is turnably mounted in suitable bearings formed in bars 44,44 interconnecting straps 45, 45 secured by bolts 46, 46, or equivalentmembers to the side pieces l3 of the mold, the shaft 43 being held inposition by collars 4T, 41 abutting against the bars 44, 44 and securedby cotters 48, 48. The shaft 43 may be provided with a squared end 49,Figs. 10, 11 and 12, for the reception of an operating crank, not shown,by means of which the shaft 43 and cam 42 may be turned.

It will be seen that the wear plate 4| moves along the curved surface ofthe cam as the cam is rotated. In order to properly guide the movementof the gate H, the wear plate 4| is provided with a lug 56 whichcontinuously engages the curved surface of the cam and serves to helpcontrol the movement of the gate responsive to actuation of the cam. Thegate Ill engages guide angles 5| 5|, and 52, 52 during its movement,

these guide angles being provided with slotted similar hole 51atherethrough, so that when the shaft 43 is turned to close the gateduring casting, the lugs and holes will be brought into registry forreceiving a safety locking bolt 58, which prevents the shaft 43 fromturning during pouring of the metal into the mold, thus assuring thebottom of the mold being securely closed during casting operations.

It will be seen that since the gate I1 is supported by the cam 42, whenthe shaft is turned the gate will follow the curved surface of the cam,its movement being guided by lug 56 and by the guide angles 5|, 5|, and52, 52; and the configuration of the cam is such that the bottom of themold will be freely opened when the gate has reached its maximum openposition, thereby enabling a ready application of a uniform coating of amold dressing to the surfaces of the mold cavity l6. During the castingoperations, the cam 42 tightly clamps the gate against the bottom of themold, the gate being held properly centered by the guide angles 5|, 5|and 52, 52. Loss of metal through the bottom of the mold is therebyprevented, and the insertion of the safety bolt 58 through the lugs 55and 56 positively prevents accidental opening of the gate i1 duringcasting operations, as the shaft 43 is securely held against turning.The application of an even coating of mold dressing enables ordinary tapwater to be employed as the cooling medium with entire satisfaction andwith no detrimental effects on the properties of the castings.

As will be seen from Figs. 17 and 18, a plurality of cams may be usedwhere the mold is of large size, so that a straight movement of the moldbottom is assured, as well as positive movement both towards and awayfrom the body of the mold.

For accomplishing this purpose, a pair of cams is shown, the individualcams being indicatedat 42a and 42b, and being similar in shape to thecam 42, cams 42a and 42b being mounted on shafts 59 and 6|],respectively, and being provided with meshing gears 6|, 6|, whereby thecams will be simultaneously rotated upon actuation of either cam, asdescribed in connection with cam 42, above. The position of the camsbeneath the mold bottom or gate I1 is such that the gate i1 is alwayssquarely presented to the mold body so that a proper closure of the moldcavity by the gate is assured at all times together with positivemovement of the gate both towards and away from the mold body.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed andare pointed out in the annexed claims, it will be understood thatvarious omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention;and obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in thedetails and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention; and it is wished therefore not to be restrictedto the precise construction herein disclosed, it being intended anddesired to embrace within the scope of the invention such modificationsand changes as may be necessary to adapt it to varying conditions anduses.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of this invention, what isdesired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, supportingmechanism for the closure including a cam, means for actuating the camto cause movement of the closure member towards and away from the moldbody and cavity, and means for guiding the movement of \the closurerectilinearly relatively to the mold body.

2. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, supportingmechanism for the closure including a cam and a turnable shaft carryingthe cam, and means for guiding the closure in rectilinear movementsrelative to the mold cavity responsive to turning "movements of theshaft and cam.

on the closure engaging the cam to control the movements of the closure.

4. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, supportingmechanism for the closure including a cam engaging the closure and ashaft carrying the cam, and guides depending from the mold body forguiding the closure in rectilinear movements relative to the mold cavityresponsive to turning movements of the shaft, the closurebeingmaintained by the guides in centered relation relative to the moldcavity.

5. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, and mechanism forsupporting the closure and for imparting movement thereto relatively tothe mold body and cavity, the said mechanism comprising a shaft and acam eccentrically mounted on the shaft and engaging the closure formaintaining the closure in clamped relation against the mold cavity whenin closed position while controlling the movement of the closure to openposition responsively to corresponding movement of the shaft and cam.

6. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, and mechanism forenabling the closure to move substantially rectilinearly relatively tothe mold body, the said mechanism including guides extending from themold body between which guides the closure moves, a cam for actuatingthe closure, and a shaft for operating the cam, the closure beingmaintained by the guides in centeredev relation relative to the moldcavity.

'7 A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity, mechanism forenabling the closure to move substantially rectilinearly relatively tothe mold body, the said mechanism including guides extending from themold body between which guides the closure moves, a cam for actuatingthe closure and a shaft for actuating the cam, the cam beingeccentrically 'mounted on the shaft, the closure being maintained by theguides in centered relation relative to the mold cavity, and lockingmeans for preventing turning of the shaft during casting operationstherebypreventing displacement of the closure relative to the moldcavity mold body defining a mold cavity therein, of

sup orting means for the mold body,-a movable closure for the cavity,mechanism for moving the closure substantially rectilinearly relativelyto the mold body, the said mechanism including a cam and a shaft foractuating the cam, and cooperating lugs on the shaft and mold supportingmeans adapted to receive a locking pin therethrough when the closure isin closing position for preventing turning of the shaft during castingoperations.

10. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of supporting means for the mold body, a movable closurefor the cavity, mechanism for enabling the closure to move substantiallyrectilinearly relatively to the mold body, the said mechanism includingguides extending from the mold body between which guides the closuremoves, a cam for actuating the closure and a shaft for actuating thecam, the cam being eccentrically mounted on the shaft, the said closurebeing maintained by the guides in centered relation relative to the moldcavity, and cooperating lugs on the shaft and mold supporting meansadapted to receive a locking pin therethrough when the closure is inclosing position for preventing turning of the shaft during castingoperations.

11. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of supporting means for the mold body, a movable closurefor the cavity, mechanism for enabling the closure to move substantiallyrectilinearly relatively to the mold body, the said mechanism includingguides extending from the mold body between which guides the closuremoves, a cam for actuating the closure and a shaft for actuating thecam, the cam being eccentrically mounted on the shaft, the said closurebeing provided with a wear plate engaging the cam and being maintainedby the guides in centered relation relative to the mold cavity, andcooperating lugs on the shaft and mold supporting means adapted toreceive a locking pin therethrough when the closure is in closingposition for preventing turning of the shaft during casting operations.

12. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of supporting means for the mold body, a movable closurefor the cavity, mechanism for enabling the closure to move substantiallyrectilinearly relatively to the mold body, the said mechanism includingguides extendingfrom the mold body, between which guides the closuremoves, a cam for actuating the closure and a shaft for actuating thecam, the cam being eccentrically mount ed on the shaft, the said closurebeing provided with a Wear plate engaging the cam and a guide 1 lugadapted to ride on the surface of the cam for guiding the movements ofthe closure responsively to movements of the cam, the closure beingmaintained by the guides in centered relation relative to the moldcavity, and cooperating lugs on the shaft and mold supporting meansadapted to receive a locking pin therethrough when the closure is inclosing position for preventing turning of the shaft during castingoperations.

13. A mold comprising the combination with a mold body defining a moldcavity therein, of a movable closure for the cavity; a plurality of camsfor operating the closure and intermeshing gearing on the cams foreffecting simultaneous operation of the cams to produce positivemovement of the closure both towards and away from the mold body.

' KARL A. LINDNER.

